CHICAGO – Unable to stir enough interest in their trade chips to move more than two players at the MLB trade deadline, the Cincinnati Reds got another 29-team referendum on a couple of their players this week, with similar results.
Eugenio Suárez and TJ Friedl, both of whom were made available to every team for nothing more than the cost of their remaining contract values, both cleared waivers, according to a source with direct knowledge of the process.
Suárez, who has hit five of his 19 home runs since getting passed over by contenders at the Aug. 3 trade deadline, would have cost less than $3 million for any team that claimed him this week. Friedl, who hasn't hit at any point this season – and who got demoted to the minors for nearly a month
in the first half – would have cost a team less than $650,000 in remaining prorated salary.
Suárez, a two-time MLB All-Star who hit 49 home runs last year (and a grand slam during this week's historic comeback in San Francisco), was signed to a one-year, $15 million free-agent deal over the winter to return to the place where he originally established his career as a slugger. Friedl earned a $3.8 million arbitration deal after a strong season at the top of the lineup for the Reds' playoff team last year.
Both are well-regarded players in the clubhouse.
August waiver trades, which used to be common, were eliminated in recent years in favor of the single, hard trade deadline.
But moving players off rosters through waivers is not an uncommon practice even under the new rules. It allows teams the chance to potentially recoup some salary costs while freeing up roster spots for other players, such as those returning from the injured list (IL) or prospects a club might want to evaluate down the stretch.
Those roster spots this time of year can be more valuable because of another recent rules change, limiting September roster expansion to just one additional pitcher and one additional position player (28 total).
The waiver-claim process is one of the few remaining ways for teams to add big league players after the trade deadline, especially this time of year when contenders try to leverage their best options before the Aug. 31 deadline for having players in the organization to be eligible for the postseason.
Friedl, in particular, could now be a candidate for release.
Both players are expected to be with the team when the Reds open a three-game series against the Cubs in Chicago on Friday (Aug. 28).
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Eugenio Suárez, TJ Friedl waived, go unclaimed, stay with Reds: source
